Chapter 14
Chapter 14
After a long silence, a cold, mocking laugh rang out.
Xie Yuheng stared at Ji Hanyi with icy eyes. He did not believe she truly had the nerve to ask him for a divorce.
She no longer had the standing she once enjoyed as the Ji Family’s only daughter. Where could she possibly go after leaving him?
Even if she returned to her maternal relatives and lived under their roof, she would still be an outsider. How long could the Gu Family shelter her? Besides, the Gu Family had already declined and had little foundation left.
Who would want a divorced woman?
Without him, did she really think she could continue living in wealth and luxury, waited on by servants as she was now?
She had merely been misunderstood a few times over the past two days, and he had refused to help her cousin. This was nothing more than her way of forcing him to give in.
Still, Xie Yuheng knew he had treated Ji Hanyi poorly these past two days. She had been left alone in the freezing snow that day, and in retrospect, he truly had been inconsiderate.
He had also wrongly accused her last night.
Xie Yuheng took a deep breath and looked down at Ji Hanyi. With rare patience, he said, “Hanyi, there is a limit to how far you can take a fit of temper.”
“I misunderstood you last night. I’ve had the steward send you some bird’s nest and other nourishing foods. Focus on recovering for the next few days. Once your cold is gone, you can resume paying your respects to Mother and attending to her.”
Ji Hanyi had thought Xie Yuheng would agree without hesitation.
After all, she knew how deeply he loved Li Mingrou. The only reason he had never brought up divorce was to preserve his reputation and dignity. Now that she had raised the matter herself and even taken care to protect his name, he still thought she was merely throwing a tantrum.
It seemed Xie Yuheng had never understood her at all. Had he understood her even a little, he would have known she had never once thrown a tantrum.
But regardless of what he thought, matters had already reached this point. She had to make herself clear.
Ji Hanyi shook her head again and looked at him earnestly. “I have actually been considering divorce for a long time. I simply never mentioned it to you before.”
“We have been married for three years. No matter how many times you misunderstood me, I never threw a tantrum. I certainly would not use something as serious as divorce to cause a scene.”
“This is a decision I made after careful consideration. Please sign and seal it as soon as possible.”
Xie Yuheng stared in shock at Ji Hanyi’s calm face. The candlelight flickered, and the resolve in her eyes did not seem feigned.
Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, yet every one of them rejected the possibility that Ji Hanyi would truly dare divorce him.
He took the Divorce Agreement from her and unfolded it. As his gaze passed over each word, it stopped on the line: Two boats may cross the same waters, yet in the end they sail separate courses.
His grip tightened, and he looked up at Ji Hanyi.
Ji Hanyi lowered her eyes and said softly, “I have already signed my name. Once Eldest Master adds his signature and seal, I will have all my belongings packed by tomorrow.”
She had not brought much with her to the Xie Residence in the first place. When the Ji Family’s property was confiscated, she and her mother had left the Ji Residence with nothing but the plain clothes on their backs. No matter how illustrious the Ji Family had once been, it no longer had anything to do with her.
Xie Yuheng looked at the vermilion signature on the Divorce Agreement, then silently studied Ji Hanyi for a long moment. Suddenly, he let out a cold laugh and tore the agreement in half.
The two halves fluttered down between them.
Ji Hanyi could hardly believe he had done such a thing. She had only wanted them to part with dignity and composure. She had not wished to mention the woman in his heart, much less recount all the grievances she had suffered during her three years in the Xie Family.
Once they parted, the world would be vast and the years ahead long. All she wanted was for their lives never to cross again.
Xie Yuheng’s impatient voice came from above her. “Hanyi, this is the only time I will indulge such willfulness from you.”
He continued in that familiar tone of perpetual disappointment. “After three years, your temperament still hasn’t changed much.”
“How are you supposed to become the Matriarch of the Xie Family one day? If you continue making trouble without reason, I will have you kneel in the ancestral shrine and reflect on your behavior.”
A chill spread through Ji Hanyi’s entire body.
She had always known Xie Yuheng had no affection for her, but she had not expected that his opinion of her had never changed at all.
All because Li Mingrou had deliberately spilled that bowl of tea years ago, his judgment had followed her for the entirety of their three-year marriage. No matter how well she conducted herself, in his heart she would always be an intolerant, petty woman who caused trouble without reason.
A sudden wave of disgust and helplessness toward Xie Yuheng overwhelmed her. Even one more glance at him made her heart ache.
Ji Hanyi stepped back and closed her eyes. Her unsteady body braced itself against the small table beside her, her cheeks deathly pale. It took her a long while to recover enough to speak.
“If I kneel in the ancestral shrine and reflect on my behavior, will you write another Divorce Agreement once I come out?”
Xie Yuheng looked at Ji Hanyi’s pale face. Her small, slender body trembled faintly. He did feel some tenderness toward her, but he disliked how willful she always was.
Admittedly, she managed their courtyard impeccably. The maids there were well disciplined, she attended to his mother with the utmost devotion, and she always conducted herself with grace and propriety at social engagements.
In truth, he had never considered divorcing her. He simply disliked how she was always so quick to take offense.
He knew the Ji Family might have indulged her and shaped her temperament in the past. His constant indifference and neglect were only meant to wear down the sharp edges of her personality.
Even if he never took a concubine in the future, such jealousy on her part would still be unacceptable.
Xie Yuheng took a deep breath. Seeing Ji Hanyi in such a state, he ultimately could not bring himself to punish her.
He merely said, “Hanyi, I will overlook what happened today. I will give you a few days to reflect and recover from your illness. Do not disappoint me again.”
After saying that, Xie Yuheng gave Ji Hanyi one last, searching look before turning to leave.
His slender shadow receded behind the folding screen. Soon, Ji Hanyi was the only person left standing in the empty inner chamber.
She lowered her gaze to the Divorce Agreement Xie Yuheng had torn in half. Bending down, she picked up the pieces and tossed them into the nearby charcoal brazier.
Flames leaped up, their glow reflected in her eyes. She sat down on the daybed and watched through the window as Xie Yuheng walked out of the courtyard, then turned away.
Rongchun entered from outside, carefully carrying a porcelain bowl. She approached Ji Hanyi and said with a smile, “Young Madam, the Eldest Master ordered the kitchen to make this restorative soup for you. Please drink it while it’s hot.”
She added, “It’s rare for the Eldest Master to show concern for the Young Madam. He must finally have realized how good you are.”
Ji Hanyi merely glanced at the bowl in Rongchun’s hands and smiled faintly.
What concern was there? He had somehow learned that he had wronged her over what happened last night, so he was offering her a little sweetness afterward.
Just like that bolt of Shu Brocade the other day.
Li Mingrou could obtain such things without lifting a finger, while Ji Hanyi had to suffer before she received anything at all.
Ji Hanyi looked up at Rongchun. “You were out in the wind with me today. You drink it.”
Rongchun froze, then hurriedly protested, “The Eldest Master had this made for the Young Madam. How could this servant drink it?”
Ji Hanyi rested a hand against her forehead. “Just drink it. It’s only a bowl of restorative soup. There may not be another one tomorrow.”
With that, Ji Hanyi rose and headed to the study off the rear corridor.
On her way back today, she had stopped by her shops and brought their account books home with her.
Now that she had decided to divorce Xie Yuheng, the more money and assets she had at her disposal, the better.
She also knew she could not live indefinitely in her maternal grandfather’s household. Her grandfather might not object, but her aunt certainly would.
She did not blame anyone. She understood that her maternal family was struggling, and she had no wish to drag anyone else down because of her divorce.
The divorce was her concern alone. She could not let it implicate her family.
Her first shop had been open longer, so its profits were respectable. The second had been operating for less than a year and was not doing nearly as well.
Still, something was always better than nothing.
The shop manager was someone Ji Hanyi had obtained through her maternal grandmother, so she trusted him well enough. Even so, she carefully reviewed the accounts every quarter.
Beside her, Rongchun trimmed the lampwick. Only then did Ji Hanyi realize how long she had been reading.
She rubbed between her brows and asked Rongchun, “Did you drink the soup?”
Rongchun nodded quickly, though unease lingered in her voice. “It was a rare gesture of thoughtfulness from the Eldest Master. If he learns I drank it, will he start neglecting the Young Madam again?”
Ji Hanyi did not care. She closed the ledger and leaned wearily against the back of her chair, stroking the soft, warm white cat in her arms. Her gaze drifted unfocused as she murmured, “All I’m worried about now is my cousin.”
What frightened her most was that the charges might be made out to be more serious than they were, dragging down the already precarious Gu Family with him.
When disaster had struck that year, both of her uncles had been demoted. At the time, the Gu Family had still been relatively wealthy. After all, they had prospered in the capital for over a century and accumulated a considerable number of fields and shops.
But in hopes of securing lighter punishments for her two uncles, the family had spent silver everywhere and called in every connection they had. More than half their fortune had been squandered, yet none of it had changed the outcome.
At that moment, Ji Hanyi suddenly recalled the day her mother had taken her to plead with Former Chief Grand Secretary Shen on her father’s behalf.
Former Chief Grand Secretary Shen had been the teacher of His Majesty the Emperor. If he interceded, perhaps her father might be shown mercy.
By then, however, the Former Chief Grand Secretary no longer held the office of Chief Grand Secretary. He had stepped down the same year Shen Si entered officialdom.
Ji Hanyi and her mother had knelt before the Former Chief Grand Secretary, but he had merely sighed with regret. “The one who cannot spare Zixu is not His Majesty the Emperor. It is the people of Liaoxi.”
Ji Hanyi had not truly understood those words at the time. Now, as the old memory resurfaced, she finally did.
The army had suffered defeat after defeat in Liaoxi. Countless commoners had been killed or injured, and an untold amount of property had been pillaged. Of course the people resented the imperial court for its failures. The court’s authority had to be upheld, as did the dignity of His Majesty the Emperor.
Her father had been the Minister of War and had overseen strategy in Liaoxi. Both the Liaoxi Military Commissioner and the commanding general had been recommended by him. Making her father atone with his life had been the best way to appease the people of Liaoxi.
It gave them someone upon whom they could focus all their hatred.
No one could have saved her father. How, then, could those implicated alongside him ever have been pardoned?
The people who had taken the Gu Family’s money had known there was no hope of saving them. Yet they had greedily dangled that faint hope before the family and stripped them of their wealth.
Ji Hanyi closed her eyes and sighed softly. How could the tottering Gu Family withstand yet another upheaval?
When she returned to her room, bathed, and retired for the night, it was as cold and deserted as ever. Ji Hanyi had long since grown accustomed to it. If anything, she felt relieved.
Yet just as exhaustion was pulling her into sleep, she heard a faint sound beyond the bed curtains.
A moment later came a soft rustle. The curtains parted briefly, then fell shut again. The covers were lifted, and a warm body pressed against her from behind as a hand settled on her waist.